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"It used to be that only the Angels showed up in that kind of shape but then everybody started to look around and saw that they wanted to be competitive, they got to work out," says Ed Razek, chief marketing officer of Victoria's Secret.

So the Angels, and their wannabes, have hit the gym - so much more satisfying than the professional body beautiful who don't even so much as wink at a dumbell. This time around, exercise matters. "What have you been doing? We like to know the exercise regimes," Sophia Neophitou, collection creative director, asks models during the casting.

"I do bootcamp," answers one, "salsa," says another, "boxing for like around three months," adds one, "Soul Cycle" admits another. "Everything...and it's all for you guys," beams one more.

But the models aren't short of motivation. Strutting your stuff as an Angel on the catwalk is regarded by the industry as a career launch pad: "all the models know it and it's one of the reasons they all want to be in the show," says Monica Mitro, producer of the annual Victoria's Secret Show.

"A lot of girls literally fly in for the casting," says John Pfeiffer, casting director.

Then there is of course the small fact you'll be in underwear in front of a 1,000-strong audience and the millions watching the show on television.

It figures then - as exposed in this behind-the-scenes film of a Victoria's Secret Show casting - that the seasoned Angels, including Behati Prinsloo, Jourdan Dunn and Jessica Hart, have to work the room - and their bodies - just as hard as the newcomers. "There's nothing to hide, it's not a photo shoot. You know? You're in movement and it's just you. There's no hair and make-up, you just go as natural as possible and work it," says Victoria's Secret pro model Martha Hunt.

Jourdan Dunn works the casting for the Victoria's Secret show 2013

"It doesn't matter if it's your first time or your tenth time coming here, everyone has the same level of nerves," says Mitro. No wonder - "It's all about, do they have the confidence? Have they got the power to captivate you in that moment when they're projecting themselves to a thousand people in an audience and the millions of people that are going to watch them on TV?" explains Neophitou on what they're looking for in an Angel. And do they have that body?

"Every girl we've seen over the last two days could have been in any of our first five shows. That's how much the show has advanced over the years. So it's just going to be a difficult edit," admits Razek.